Amateur Privileges and Bands in Mexico

Updated 17 September 2004

NOTE: The following information is taken from the
amateur radio regulations documents currently
in effect in Mexico, translated into English and summarized. Although I
have taken care to provide this information accurately, this is not an
official document. This is provided only as a convenience for
amateur operators who wish to obtain a permit and legally operate in Mexico,
but do not wish to read the regulations documents in Spanish.
In Mexico, there are four amateur license classes (Clase 1, Clase
2, Novato, and Restringido - translated to Class 1, Class 2,
Novice, and Restricted). Here is a summary of the four classes:

Class 1
Privileges on all amateur bands, 1250 watts on all HF bands plus 50 MHz, 500
watts on 144 MHz and above. Licenses are valid for 5 years, and are
renewable.

Class 2
Privileges on all amateur bands, 500 watts on all HF bands plus 50 MHz, 200
watts on 144 MHz and above. Licenses are valid for 5 years, and are
renewable.

Novice
Phone privileges on 7.050-7.100 MHz and 144-148 MHz, CW on 7.000-7.050 MHz, 150
watts for CW/SSB, 45 watts for FM. Licenses are valid for 2 years, and
are not renewable.

Restricted
Phone privileges on 7.050-7.100 MHz and 144-148 MHz, CW on 7.000-7.050 MHz, 50
watts for AM/SSB, 45 watts for FM. Licenses are valid for 1 year, and are
not renewable.

In addition to written exams offered for each license class covering
regulations and electrical/radio theory, Mexican amateurs are required to pass
a 10wpm Morse exam to obtain a Class 1 license or a 7wpm exam to obtain a Class
2 license. There is no Morse requirement listed in the Mexican amateur
regulations requiring Novice or Restricted licensees to pass a Morse exam, even
though those license classes provide HF privileges.

Many foreign amateur operators will receive either Class 1 or Class 2 permits,
valid for up to 6 months unless they have permanent residency or some other
immigration status in Mexico which could allow a permit to be valid for up to a
year or more. In addition, amateurs from some countries (among them, the
USA) will receive permits that specifically forbid operating in contests, as
part of a DXpedition in Mexico, or from a Mexican island. If your
intention is to do any of those activities, indicate that on your application
when you file it - and wait until you have the permit from Mexico City in hand
to ensure those prohibitions are not written into your permit, or to see if
specific permission was put into your permit for those operations.

USA amateurs and classes of Mexican permits
For USA amateurs, here is a "conversion chart" that shows how each
class of USA amateur license is treated by the Mexican authorities:

USA Advanced or Amateur Extra = Mexican Class I

USA Technician Plus or General = Mexican Class II

USA Novice or Technician = Mexican Novice

This information comes directly from Moises G. Ramirez Rodriguez, the Director
of License Issuance for CoFeTel in Mexico City. There was no mention if
CoFeTel will allow someone with a Technician license and proof of passing a
5wpm Morse exam to obtain a Class II permit. A safe assumption for USA
amateurs would be to obtain at least a General class license before applying
for a Mexican permit. This ensures you will receive a permit with access
to all bands (Class II), even if the power limitations are lower than those
with the Mexican Class I permits and licenses and (generally) lower than what
you would have in the USA.
Mexican amateur bands
These are the amateur bands in Mexico:

1.800-2.000 MHz

3.500-4.000 MHz

7.000-7.300 MHz

10.100-10.150 MHz

14.000-14.350 MHz

18.068-18.168 MHz

21.000-21.450 MHz

24.890-24.990 MHz

28.000-29.700 MHz

50-54 MHz

144-148 MHz

220-225 MHz

430-440 MHz

1240-1300 MHz

2300-2450 MHz

3300-3500 MHz

5650-5925 MHz

10.0-10.5 GHz

24.00-24.25 GHz

47.0-47.2 GHz

75.5-81.0 GHz

142-149 GHz

241-250 GHz

Mexican regulations do not specify which modes are allowable in certain bands
or sub-bands, but on 3 bands (144, 220, 430 MHz) the regulations specify which
frequencies may be used for repeaters and which frequencies may be used for
simplex operation. Satellite operation is permitted, although the
regulations indicate that the operator must obtain special permission to use
435-438 MHz for satellite operations. Do NOT attempt to use
repeaters in the 440-450 MHz range when in Mexico. This portion of the
70cm band used to be available to amateurs, and there may still be amateur
repeaters operating in this range in parts of Mexico in addition to repeaters
across the USA border, but that portion has officially been transferred from
the amateur service.

Station identification, when in Mexico...
Foreign amateurs operating in Mexico will need to place the proper Mexican
prefix before their call, based on
location. Article 36 of the November
1988 regulations states that station identification is to be done either in
Spanish or with international phonetics at least every 15 minutes, along with
stating your location. Once you have the
XE permit in hand from
Mexico City, you must use the callsign as indicated on the permit,
regardless of your location in Mexico.

For example, your permit shows XE2/WW1XYZ and you are in Mexico City - part of
the XE1 call area. You would identify as XE2/WW1XYZ/XE1, and mention your
location (Mexico City, or Ciudad de Mexico in Spanish). With your
permit, you may operate from anywhere on the Mexican mainland and the Baja
California peninsula, but must obtain special permission before
operating from any Mexican island and using the XF prefixes.

Traveling to Mexico with amateur radio equipment...
Holding a Mexican amateur permit - or license - provides no special privileges
when entering Mexico with amateur equipment. DO NOT BRING EQUIPMENT
INTO MEXICO IN THE ORIGINAL PACKAGING! The original packaging will
draw attention to you by a Customs inspector, who may choose to assess an
import duty/tax or simply confiscate the equipment. You may wish to keep
a list showing each item along with its model and serial numbers, and other
documents like a Customs registration from your home country (or copies of
sales receipts for each piece of equipment) to show you own this equipment when
going to Mexico. A Customs registration certificate/document might be
useful to make the case that you will be taking those items back with you, if
there is any question about your intentions with the equipment.
WD9EWK/VA7EWK - Mexican (XE) ham-radio permits